This review may contain spoilers
A promising sequel turned into a plot race
Clarification: I did not read the webtoon. I saw snippets from it, but not too much to be an expert. Still, i would compare it to the show nevertheless.
Let's start from the positives.
- In the short span of 8 episodes, they managed to make almost every new appearing character interesting, or at least not boring. I would say that for the most part, it's thanks to their actors, but i would expand on it more in the negatives part.
- Scenery, color grading, you get it, the visuals. It's not as breathtaking just as first season was, but still beautiful in it's own way, portraying Sieun's melancholy with blue hues and warm tones when he's happier.
- The plot is complete. It really is. Everything they could've done, they did. You can tell that it's a finished story, without loose ends. However, only regarding major parts. In minors, well.....
- Acting. Not only Park Jihoon delivered amazing performance as always, but everyone else, too. Especially antagonists.
- Music. Primary did an excellent job, but for me, there were never any doubt about the music part. Energetic and catchy when it needs to be, melancholic, hopeful, you get it.
Negatives. Well, buckle up.
- As much as they tried to expand as much on each charater as they could, it still feels too little. I came to watch already knowing who everyone else is, but what about drama only watchers? They tried to make new relationships seem as meaningful as possible, but it still progressed too fast with minimal amount of scenes that's needed to say yeah, i guess they're friends.
- Which leads to my next point. Pacing. It feels as rushed as it could be. As everyone already said thousands of times, it's action packed. Not plot packed. It felt like race to an unknown destination. A destination wich at first seemed promising, but turned out to be disappointing.
- Hinting that Seongje is a main antagonist in possible season three. First of all, you put actual ending of a webtoon in the second season, and THEN you say wait, actually, i have more to say. Really?
- I really disliked how they tried to make the whole season about Humin and Baekjin, and then expanded on their relationship as little as possible. You just know that SOMETHING happened. What, exactly? Nevermind, decide for yourself! Not that it matters now.
- Showing off Seongje a whole lot in the promoting material just for him to disappear halfway. Nice move.
Overall, I can't say that it's bad, exactly. But who's this made for? Not for Webtoon fans, that's for sure. For them, this is a complete disappointment. Drama only fans? It's rushed and confusing. It's more of an action tale about...people, friendship? It doesn't portray societal problems as well as first season did. It's entertaining, don't get me wrong. But it falls short in front of both the webtoon and the first season. You cannot try to fit loads of chapters into eight episodes 40 mins each, and expect to come out successful. Should you watch it? If you are interested in Sieun's story, sure. But for every other character it feels too lacking.
Let's start from the positives.
- In the short span of 8 episodes, they managed to make almost every new appearing character interesting, or at least not boring. I would say that for the most part, it's thanks to their actors, but i would expand on it more in the negatives part.
- Scenery, color grading, you get it, the visuals. It's not as breathtaking just as first season was, but still beautiful in it's own way, portraying Sieun's melancholy with blue hues and warm tones when he's happier.
- The plot is complete. It really is. Everything they could've done, they did. You can tell that it's a finished story, without loose ends. However, only regarding major parts. In minors, well.....
- Acting. Not only Park Jihoon delivered amazing performance as always, but everyone else, too. Especially antagonists.
- Music. Primary did an excellent job, but for me, there were never any doubt about the music part. Energetic and catchy when it needs to be, melancholic, hopeful, you get it.
Negatives. Well, buckle up.
- As much as they tried to expand as much on each charater as they could, it still feels too little. I came to watch already knowing who everyone else is, but what about drama only watchers? They tried to make new relationships seem as meaningful as possible, but it still progressed too fast with minimal amount of scenes that's needed to say yeah, i guess they're friends.
- Which leads to my next point. Pacing. It feels as rushed as it could be. As everyone already said thousands of times, it's action packed. Not plot packed. It felt like race to an unknown destination. A destination wich at first seemed promising, but turned out to be disappointing.
- Hinting that Seongje is a main antagonist in possible season three. First of all, you put actual ending of a webtoon in the second season, and THEN you say wait, actually, i have more to say. Really?
- I really disliked how they tried to make the whole season about Humin and Baekjin, and then expanded on their relationship as little as possible. You just know that SOMETHING happened. What, exactly? Nevermind, decide for yourself! Not that it matters now.
- Showing off Seongje a whole lot in the promoting material just for him to disappear halfway. Nice move.
Overall, I can't say that it's bad, exactly. But who's this made for? Not for Webtoon fans, that's for sure. For them, this is a complete disappointment. Drama only fans? It's rushed and confusing. It's more of an action tale about...people, friendship? It doesn't portray societal problems as well as first season did. It's entertaining, don't get me wrong. But it falls short in front of both the webtoon and the first season. You cannot try to fit loads of chapters into eight episodes 40 mins each, and expect to come out successful. Should you watch it? If you are interested in Sieun's story, sure. But for every other character it feels too lacking.
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